This invention relates to a dual level performance cleaning system for removing particles from a copier/printer machine during normal operation and operations requiring a higher vacuum level for the desired cleaning.
In high volume copier/printer machine processes that implement particles for development, such as a dry toner, it is necessary to remove waste products, including excess toner from certain areas of the machine. Vacuum cleaning is often implemented with a particle separator that separates waste particles from a cleaning gas flow. The vacuum system can include a high wattage blower, a cyclone separator, hoses and various other toner and developer removal hardware, as well as hoses and the like associated with a vacuum system for manually cleaning the inside of the copier/printer machine. The vacuum levels needed to provide adequate airflow can require the blower requirements to exceed one kilowatt. The use of a blower of this size results in undesirable levels of noise, excessive power consumption, and higher equipment costs. Accordingly, an improved system and method has been sought to accomplish the desired cleaning and particle removal more quietly and efficiently.
According to the present invention, a method for quietly and efficiently cleaning and removing particles from a copier/printer machine by positioning a variable speed blower in fluid communication with a vacuum system adapted to draw a gaseous stream from the copier/printer during normal operations and during heavy duty operations; adjusting the blower speed to provide a first lower vacuum sufficient for normal operations during normal operations and increasing the blower speed to provide an increased vacuum sufficient for heavy duty cleaning operations during heavy duty cleaning operations.